Frances de la Tour - IMDb IMDb Frances de la Tour was born on July 30, 1944 in Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, England as Frances J De Lautour. She is an actress, known for Hugo (2011), The Book of Eli (2010) and Alice in Wonderland (2010). See full bio » Born: a list of 30 people created 01 Oct 2010 a list of 662 people created 01 Jul 2014 a list of 23 people created 21 Apr 2015 a list of 43 people created 30 May 2015 a list of 41 people created 11 months ago Do you have a demo reel? Add it to your IMDbPage How much of Frances de la Tour's work have you seen? User Polls Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations. See more awards » Known For 2016-2017 The Collection (TV Series) Yvette Sabine / Yvette 2006 3 lbs.

(TV Series) Dr. Haliday 2006 New Tricks (TV Series) Professor Styles 2004 Waking the Dead (TV Series) Alice Taylor-Garnett 2003 Born and Bred (TV Series) Eugenia Maddox 1996 Cold Lazarus (TV Mini-Series) Emma Porlock 1994 Downwardly Mobile (TV Series) Rosemary 1993 Stay Lucky (TV Series) Paddy Bysouth 1993 Every Silver Lining (TV Series) Shirley Silver - Free Lunch (1993) ... Shirley Silver - Brotherhood (1993) ...

Shirley Silver 1986 Unnatural Causes (TV Series) Marcia 1984 Ellis Island (TV Mini-Series) Millie Renfrew 1983 The Bounder (TV Series) Celia 1982 ITV Playhouse (TV Series) Jean 1974-1978 Rising Damp (TV Series) Ruth 1977 Cottage to Let (TV Series) Elsie Pope 1977 Maggie: It's Me (TV Movie) Maggie 1974-1976 Play for Today (TV Series) Marcia / Maria 1976 Crown Court (TV Series) Anne Scofield 1973 Crime of Passion (TV Series) Marie Villars 1972 Our Miss Fred (performer: "Hitler has only One Brass Ball" - uncredited) Hide 2006 Charlie Rose (TV Series) Herself - Guest Herself - Winner: Best Featured Actress in a Play 2006 Imagine (TV Series documentary) Herself 2005 Richard & Judy (TV Series) Herself 2005 The South Bank Show (TV Series documentary) Herself 

1981 The Theatre Quiz (TV Series) Herself - Panellist - Episode #1.6 (1981) ...

Herself - Panellist 1981 Omnibus (TV Series documentary) Herself 1975 This Is Your Life (TV Series documentary) Herself - Guest - Leonard Rossiter (1975) ... Herself - Guest Hide 2016 Rising Damp Forever (TV Mini-Series documentary) Ruth Personal Details Other Works: She acted in Tom Kempinski's play, "Duet for One," at the Duke of York's Theatre in London, England with David De Keyser in the cast. Roger Smith was director. See more » Publicity Listings: Frances De La Tour | Frances De La Tour in opening credits Height: Did You Know? Personal Quote: I didn't think that Rising Damp (1974) would have quite the longevity it's enjoying, actually, because at the time we knew it was good because it was very well written by Eric Chappell , and he wrote characters as well as situations. In fact very little situation happens in this particular situation comedy, it's character based. And we knew it was good but there were a lot of very popular and good...

See more » Trivia: She was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1992 (1991 season) for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in "When She Danced". See more » Star Sign: Rising Damp - Show News, Reviews, Recaps and Photos - TV.com EDIT Rumour has it that somewhere deep in the rain forests of South America, there still exist undiscovered tribes of people completely cut off from civilization, untouched by technology, and oblivious to the existence of the great world beyond the waterfall. If this is so, then these people are quite possibly the only humans on the entire planet that have never stood with hands on hips, nodded their heads vigorously back and forth and uttered the line "Yes, Miss Jones." Certainly everyone else, however, has. Such is the legendary status of one miserly, prejudiced, scheming and generally unlikeable bed-sit landlord called Rigsby. Rising Damp originated as a script for a stage play, The Banana Box, in 1970.

It's author, Eric Chappell, was inspired by a newspaper article about a black man who had guested at a hotel for a year, pretending to be an African prince as a means of avoiding discrimination. The play enjoyed a short lived run in 1971, with Wilfred Brambell as landlord Rooksby, and again in 1973 where regular stars Leonard Rossiter, Don Warrington and Frances De La Tour were cast. It was on this final run that a Yorkshire Television executive was invited to see it, and recognised it's potential as sit-com material. In 1974, The Banana Box became one of six sit-com pilot episodes commissioned by YTV, the others being Badger's Set, Brotherly Love, Slater's Day, You'll Never Walk Alone and Oh No, It's Selwyn Frogit! During production of The Banana Box, the title was deemed unsuitable and changed to Rising Damp (after a line from the script). Also, due to a complaint from a real Mr Rooksby, the lead character's name was altered to the more familiar Rigsby after a flick through the phone book.

Audience reaction to the pilot were deemed favourable enough for YTV to commission a series. In fact, the show ran to four series, a Christmas special and a successful feature film, winning multiple awards along the way. moreless The Museum of Broadcast Communications - Encyclopedia of Television - Rising Damp RISING DAMP British Situation Comedy Rising Damp, the classic Yorkshire Television situation comedy series set in a run-down northern boarding house, was originally screened on ITV between 1974 and 1978 and has continued to be revived on British television at regular intervals ever since, always attracting large audiences (many of whom were no doubt lodgers at one time or another in similarly seedy houses). Created by writer Ernie Chappell, the series depicted the comic misadventures and machinations of Rupert Rigsby, the embittered down-at-heel landlord who constantly spied on the usually very innocent private lives of an assortment of long-suffering tenants. The success of Rising Damp depended largely upon the considerable comic talent of its star, Leonard Rossiter, who played the snooping and sneering Rigsby.

Rossiter had first demonstrated his impeccable coming timing in the same role (though under the name Rooksby) in the one-off stage play Banana Box, from which the television series was derived. Rossiter rapidly stamped his mark upon the money-grubbing, lecherous, manneristic landlord, making him at once repulsive, vulnerable, paranoid, irrepressible, ignorant, cunning, and above all hilarious. Sharing his inmost fears and suspicions with his cat Vienna, he skulked about the ill-kempt house, bursting in on tenants when he thought (almost always mistakenly) that he would catch them in flagrante and impotently plotting how to seduce university administrator Miss Jones, the frustrated spinster who was the reluctant object of his desire. Rigsby's appalling disrespect for the privacy of his lodgers and his irrepressible inquisitiveness was the moving force behind the storylines, bringing together the various supporting characters who otherwise mostly cut lonely and inadequate, even tragic, figures.

The supporting cast was in fact very strong, with Miss Jones played in highly individualistic style by the respected stage actress Frances de la Tour, the confused, naive medical student Alan played by an ingenuous but appealing Richard Beckinsale, and Philip, the proud but smug son of an African tribal chief, played by Don Warrington. Only Beckinsale had not appeared in the original stage play. Other lodgers later in the series were Brenda (Gay Rose) and Spooner (Derek Newark). The frustrations and petty humiliations constantly suffered by the various characters, coupled with their dingy surroundings, could easily have made the series a melancholy affair, but the deft humour of the scripts married to the inventiveness and expertise of the performers kept the tone light, if somewhat hysterical at times, and enabled the writers to explore Rigsby's various prejudices (concerning sex, race, students, and anything unfamiliar) without causing offence. In this respect, the series was reminiscent of the techniques employed in Steptoe and Son and by Johnny Speight and Warren Mitchell in the "Alf Garnett" series, though here there was less emphasis on invective and more on deliberately farcical comedy.

One occasion on which the series did come unstuck was when fun was had at the expense of an apparently fictional election candidate named Pendry, who was described as crooked and homosexual--unfortunately there was a real Labour member of parliament of the same name and Yorkshire Television was obliged to pay substantial damages for defamation as a result. The success of the television series led to a film version in 1980, but this met with mixed response, lacking the conciseness and sharpness of the television series and also lacking the presence of Beckinsale, who had tragically died of a heart attack at the age of 31 the previous year. Rossiter himself went on to star in the equally popular series The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin before his own premature death from heart failure in 1984. -David Pickering Rising Damp characters - British Comedy Guide Played by: Leonard Rossiter A deeply flawed and complex man, Rigsby projects himself at once as both superior and inferior to those around him. His insecurities tend to lead Rigsby toward bigotry, and an obsession with status sees him at once look down on the student, and look up to the 'African Prince', Philip.

Possessing what can at best be described as a mild obsession for tenant Ruth Jones, he seems to spend a great deal of his day misguidedly attempting to impress and woo her in one way or another. When not chasing Miss Jones or terrorising his other tenants, Rigsby can be found with his old, fluffy cat, Vienna. Ruth Jones University Administrator. Played by: Frances de la Tour Highly strung and with a deeply passionate side, Miss Jones longs for love and romance - preferably with Philip. Sadly for Miss Jones, almost the only male attention she receives is from Rigsby. She is not completely averse to his charms, such as they are, but in all truth holds very little interest in him even as a man, let alone a lover. She is the most outwardly sophisticated of Rigsby and his tennants, but still holds delusions of greater intelligence, grandeur and lifestyle than is actually the case. Alan Moore (Series 1-3) Student. Played by: Richard Beckinsale Medical student Alan is a source of constant frustration and confusion to his landlord.

Alan represents all of the 1970s that Rigsby does not understand, and certainly does not experience: the liberated ideals of 'free love', music, changing fashions, and much else besides. In truth, however, Alan is only mildly more relaxed than Rupert Rigsby is, and certainly not much more 'hip'. But in the late 1970s, it's attitude that counts... Philip Smith Student. Played by: Don Warrington Suave, sophisticated, relaxed and learned - Philip is everything that Rupert Rigsby is not. Claiming to be an African Prince, he immediately sets himself both above and below his landlord; however, in reality he is nothing of the sort, having been born in Croydon, rather than the son of an African tribal chieftan. It's safe to say that Philip is by quite some way the most intelligent and educated resident of the house, and is not above playing on the insecurities and lower intelligence of others - mainly Rigsby - for his own amusement. Share this page LeonardRossiter.com: Rigsby Online - Story of Rising Damp - The TV Series See Main Biographies page for appearances and biographies.

Rupert Rigsby played by Leonard Rossiter Landlord of the boarding house. Extremely prejudiced, especially toward students and blacks (examples of both of which reside in his home). Married (Veronica, during wartime, and on pain of death by her father's shotgun), but now separated. Has a shoplifting brother, Ron, in Accrington. Wears one set of clothes: holey green cardigan, minus most buttons, shiny grey trousers, worn red slippers (but still has his demob suit, minus its pockets' linings). Participation in World War II sketchy at best. Has tendency to embellish war stories. Dislikes children (after receiving a singed beard while playing Santa one Christmas). Has barred any romance in the house (probably based on jealousy). Lusts after Ruth Jones, a tenant and spinster. Only companion is Vienna, his flea-bitten cat. Ruth Jones played by Frances de la Tour Tenant of the boarding house. University administrator, responsible for the accommodation of students.Thirty-something spinster with few previous beaus (one being a policeman who always wore his uniform, hence the need to keep swinging their arms to show they weren't handcuffed together).

Has brought a womanly touch to the dingy lodgings (eg. blue water in the toilet) and never complains about her room (unlike the other tenants). Continually rebuffs Rigsby's advances. Lusts after black student tenant Philip Smith, but eventually falls in love with and moves out to live with librarian Desmond, but returns after it doesn't work out. Eventually accepts Rigsby's hand in marriage but gets cold feet before the service. Alan Moore played by Richard Beckinsale Tenant of the boarding house. Medical student at the local university. A kind, gentle sort of chap, with boyish good looks, which have, nevertheless, resulted in a noticeable absence of girlfriends, despite his boasting to the contrary. Still very much under his parents' wings (he goes home at the weekends), he is rather cowardly and gullible, but enjoys playing tricks on Rigsby with his room-mate Philip Smith. Graduates as a doctor and leaves the house. Philip Smith played by Don Warrington Tenant of the boarding house. Town and country planning student at the local university. Alleges he is from Africa and has ten wives.

A black, well-spoken, well-dressed gentleman, with tribal makrs and a long history of girlfriends, much to the annoyance of room-mate Alan. Is lusted after by Miss Jones, much to the annoyance of Rigsby. Has no interest in Miss Jones, much to the annoyance of Miss Jones. Is often the butt of Rigsby's racist, bigoted comments. The Series Series One was broadcast from December 13th 1974 to January 17th 1975, and was an immediate success. It was a personal triumph for Leonard Rossiter, his first sitcom role. Each week, viewers learned more and more about each of the characters. Rigsby would go to even greater lengths to win affection from Miss Jones, while being victim to Alan and Philip's pranks. Rigsby would carry around his overweight, slothful cat Vienna (which Leonard hated off-set. Although a cat-lover, he used to complain that Vienna smelled awful), barging into the boys' room without knocking, trying to catch them 'up to something', which they never were.

Mocking Philip, his race and his culture, while trying to be a father-figure to Alan, Rigsby came over as cold, pretentious and chauvinistic, but at the same time vulnerable, a sad, lonely figure of a man who longed for love and happiness in his twilight years. As Eric Chappell says: "Rigsby wanted to be part of their lives, which became irritating for them... and he was always coming through doors without knocking, saying he had right of access - which really meant access to their lives, not just their rooms." The first series of any sitcom is much concerned with establishing the characters and their lives, and Eric displayed this very well in the scripts, which often drew on the script from The Banana Box. We learn that Rigsby did marry, a battle-axe called Veronica, but he was 'elated' when she left him. He was a soldier in World War Two, and would get out his mementoes or relate one of his yarns at the slightest mention of the war. Leonard once said of Rigsby: "I knew people like this.

I've sat in pubs with them." And Don Warrington concurs: "I think he really caught something about the English in Rigsby - a sort of emotional incontinence which one can see in pubs. The one who knows it all and actually knows nothing. He got that brilliantly." The second series ran from November 7th until December 19th 1975, and saw further development of the characters. In Episode Four (' Moonlight & Roses '), Miss Jones is swept off her feet by a librarian named Desmond (played by Robin Parkinson), and her departure rocks Rigsby's world - until Alan installs artists' nude model Brenda (played by Gay Rose) into the vacant room. A conman (Henry McGee) plays on Rigsby's gullibility to take his money (' The Perfect Gentleman '), and the tenants have the last laugh when he tries to convince them that the house is haunted by a 'grey lady' (' Things That Go Bump In The Night ').

Although ending on December 19th, the series appeared to continue for another week when a Boxing Day special was broadcast on December 26th entitled ' For The Man Who Has Everything ', which sees Rigsby spending Christmas alone, opening his own Christmas card, and hoping he will catch someone under the mistletoe. The boys return home early for some yuletide romancing, thinking Rigsby is spending the festive season away. A delay in the writing of episodes caused conflict with theatre commitments for Frances, resulting in her being written out of the episodes The Perfect Gentleman , The Last Of The Big Spenders , Things That Go Bump In The Night and the Christmas special For The Man Who Has Everything . Rising Damp was absent from British screens for the whole of 1976 (except for repeats). This was due to Leonard's contract with the BBC filming The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin . But Rising Damp returned for a third series on April 12th 1977.

Babies (' That's My Boy '), snakes (' Fawcett's Python '), a gay playwright (' Stage Struck ') and a hypochondriac (' Suddenly At Home ') all descend on 'Bleak House' for another seven episodes of brilliantly-written and even more brilliantly-acted sitcom fun. Frances de la Tour returned as Miss Jones, and Peter Bowles, Derek Francis, Ann Beach and Roger Brierley were among the guest stars for Series Three which ran until May 24th. By now, Richard Beckinsale had another successful series under his belt, Porridge, with Ronnie Barker. And Leonard had created another character of sitcom legend, over on BBC1. For those who had never seen Leonard on stage, the appearance of such disparate characters as Rigsby and Reginald Perrin gave the viewing public the opinion that theatre critics had long- known: that Leonard Rossiter was a fantastically versatile actor, hugely-talented, committing staggering energy and vitality to both performances on both channels. "I have never known such energy and such pace", recalls Eric Chappell. "He could speak quicker than most people, and he could think about three different things at the same time, which was useful!

He'd be remembering his lines, watching the set and the actors, and watching where the cameras were. He was really in control." Another year was to pass before Rising Damp's fourth and final series was aired. It featured just six episodes instead of the usual seven, for the simple reason that YTV forgot to commission a seventh! (Eric's scripts for Rising Damp were commissioned individually). The series ran from April 4th to May 9th 1978, and saw some of the funniest episodes of all, and commanding massive audience figures of over 18 million. Richard Beckinsale had left to pursue theatre commitments and the series' director Ronnie Baxter had left to direct In Loving Memory, so Vernon Lawrence took over the directorship. Nevertheless, the fourth series lost none of its quality: ' Great Expectations ' co-starred Andrew Sachs and Gretchen Franklin in a family inheritance tale that goes sour, but turns out for the best in the end. In 'Pink Carnations', a desperate Rigsby places an ad in a lonely-hearts column, only to have it answered by Miss Jones. And in the final episode, Rigsby finally proposes to Miss Jones, who accepts.

Sadly, she stands him up at the church, only to find that Rigsby had gone to the wrong church anyway. And so Rising Damp, one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, came to an end. It had won itself a BAFTA for Best Comedy, rocketed Leonard Rossiter to stardom and the comedy Hall of Fame, and it had served as a springboard for the writer Eric Chappell, who went on to write other classic situation comedies including Singles, The Bounder, Haggard, Home To Roost, Duty Free and Only When I Laugh. The perfection of the scripts, the massive talents of the actors involved, and the timelessness of the stories and settings ensure Rising Damp is as popular today as it has always been. LeonardRossiter.com: Rigsby Online - Main Cast Biographies Leonard Rossiter ~ Richard Beckinsale ~ Frances de la Tour ~ Don Warrington Leonard Rossiter played boarding house landlord Rooksby in the original play The Banana Box and Rupert Rigsby in all 28 episodes of the TV series and The Movie . Leonard Rossiter was born on October 21st, 1926 in Liverpool.

Unable to afford to go to university, he worked in an insurance office until he was 27, when he joined Preston repertory company and made his professional stage debut in The Gay Dog. After Preston, he starred in productions at Wolverhampton, Salisbury and The Old Vic Company at Bristol's Theatre Royal. In 1962 he made his first big-screen appearance in A Kind of Loving, followed by other films throughout the 1960s, including Billy Liar, King Rat and 2001: A Space Odyssey, and TV appearances such as Z Cars, The Avengers and Steptoe and Son. His portrayal of Adolf Hitler in the 1969 play The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui made him a West End star. His roles as Rigsby in Rising Damp and the title role in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin made him a household name, and his Cinzano commercials with Joan Collins were comic masterpieces. A keen sportsman, he excelled in squash, tennis and football. He was also a connoisseur of fine wines.

His busy career came to a tragically premature end on October 5th 1984, just sixteen days short of his 58th birthday. During a performance of Joe Orton's play Loot, Leonard suffered a heart attack in his dressing room. He was married to actress Gillian Raine and had a daughter, Camilla. See Leonard Rossiter.com for a vastly-expanded biography and a complete, illustrated career guide. Remembering Rising Damp: - "...Very, very rarely - only on about two occasions - have I thought 'Ah, this gives me all the things that I can do really well'. One of them was Rising Damp..." - "I recognised a lot of things Eric [Chappell] wrote, coming from the North - I come from Liverpool. Of being very jealous about the young people of today regarding sex and so on. That's very Rigsby, but I recognise it from when I grew up." - "Of course, the difficulty with comedy series, as I think most people realise, is that the first two are often quite good and then they begin to tail off afterwards. And I reckon that Eric was capable of writing at least six good scripts, so I did the first series without any qualms.

The difficulty came afterwards in doing the second series, as to whether Eric could keep up the standard he had set himself, and I asked him before we did them if he would be able to write them, and he said "I didn't know I could write the first six!"." - "I knew people like this [Rigsby]. I've sat in pubs with them." - (On The Movie) "I was approached and was delighted to play Rigsby again. It is the funniest character I have everplayed. Eric Chappell is a marvellous writer. Anyhow, as we will never make another series, generations will be able to enjoy it. It's not the sot of film to date." Notable Credits: Theatre - Semi-Detached (Fred Midway), The Banana Box (Rupert Rigsby), The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Arturo Ui), The Immortal Haydon (Haydon), The Strange Case of Martin Richter (Martin Richter), The Rules of the Game (Leone Gala).

TV - Rising Damp (Rupert Rigsby), The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin (Reginald Iolanthe Perrin), BBC3, I Tell You It's Burt Reynolds (Leonard), The Losers (Sydney Foskett), Z Cars (Det. Insp. Bamber), Tripper's Day (Norman Tripper), Play For Today, Pygmalion Smith (Smithy). Film - A Kind Of Loving (Whymper), Billy Liar (Mr. Shadrack), This Sporting Life (Phillips), Oliver! (Mr. Sowerberry), King Rat (Col. McCoy), 2001:A Space Odyssey (Andre Smyslov), Water (Sir Malcolm Leveridge), Barry Lyndon (Capt. Quin), Le Petomane (Monsieur Pujol). Frances de la Tour played spinster college administrator Ruth Jones in the London performances of the original play The Banana Box , 24 of the 28 episodes of the TV series and The Movie .

A delay in the writing of episodes caused conflict with theatre commitments for Frances, resulting in her being written out of the episodes The Perfect Gentleman , The Last Of The Big Spenders , Things That Go Bump In The Night and the Christmas special For The Man Who Has Everything . Frances de la Tour was born in Bovingdon, Hertfordshire on 30th July 1944. After graduating from The Drama Centre, she joined the RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) in 1965, but left after six years, dissatisfied with the "limited casting" she was constantly offered, including 'The Bumpkin' in As You Like It. She was determined to perform in more demanding, challenging roles - she once played the lead role (ie. a male) in Hamlet! By the early 1970s, Frances had appeared in a number of films, such as Every Home Should Have One and Our Miss Fred, but she still concentrated on developing her acting style on stage.

On 17th May 1973, Frances took over the role of Ruth Jones in Eric Chappell's play The Banana Box at the Hampstead Theatre Club in London (the role was previously played by Heather Canning, Janet Michael and Rosemary Leach). By the time the play ended its run on 24th July at The Apollo theatre, plans were already afoot to bring the story to television, and Frances was to continue in her role as Miss Jones. The series bought her fame, but also an unwanted, typecast label of "that woman who played Miss Jones", which annoys her to this day. And with reason, for Frances de la Tour is no "one-hit wonder". She has appeared in a seemingly endless number of plays across the UK and on Broadway, and the number of awards she has won for her roles proves not only that the RSC never saw her true worth, but also that she is now without doubt one of this country's finest theatre actresses.

These awards include Olivier Award for Best Actress (for Josie in A Moon For The Misbegotten) and both the Evening Standard Best Actress award and Society of West End Theatres Best Actress award (for Stephanie in Duet For One, a play written for her by former partner Tom Kempinski). She continued her TV and movie roles during this time, including films such as To The Devil A Daughter, The Time Bandits and Rising Damp: The Movie (for which she received the Best Actress award from the Evening Standard), in addition to raising her son Josh and daughter Tamasin. Her television appearances have included Flickers, two series of the sitcom A Kind Of Living (in which she played opposite Richard Griffiths and Tim Healy as an unemployed mother of an unnamed baby, referred to only as Og), Downwardly Mobile and Dennis Potter's futuristic Cold Lazarus. She was introduced to a new generation of viewers when appearing as Madame Maxime in two Harry Potter films, as well as Aunt Imogene in Tim Burton's retelling of Alice In Wonderland. In 2013 Frances returned to the sitcom genre in ITV's comedy Vicious, opposite Sir Derek Jacobi and Sir Ian McKellern.

Remembering Rising Damp: - "...I was brought up a little like her [Miss Jones] - she has middle-class values and these were instilled into me when I was young - but there the similarity ends...I was able to draw upon my own background experience in creating her." - "Leonard was one of the great farce actors of all time. He was nervous, vulnerable, a slave-driver, no more punishable to others than he was to himself in his drive for perfection. And we all got the giggles on numerous occasions." - "We laughed a lot on set, but comedy is a serious business and Leonard took it particularly seriously, and rightly so." - "Miss Jones was the most underwritten part, and it got better because of Frances. In the end, as I got to know the character and actress better, I was able to feed her the lines she could use so perfectly, especially with the quaint coyness she adopted...I'm very pleased with how she [Miss Jones] turned out, largely because of Frances." - Eric Chappell. - (On The Movie) "...But when the film finishes I won't be sorry. I have enjoyed the part but five years is long enough.

The film is like the icing on a good cake. And it's nice to go out with a bang and not a whimper." - "she is one of the most under-rated actresses in Britain. If she was workng in the States she would be in huge demand." - Joe McGrath, direct Rising Damp: The Movie. Notable Credits: Theatre - Hamlet (The Prince); A Moon For The Misbegotten (Josie); Duet For One (Stephanie); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Helena); Small Craft Warnings (Violet); Antony and Cleopatra (Cleopatra). TV - Rising Damp (Ruth Jones); Flickers (Maud Cole); A Kind of Living (Carol Beazley); Cold Lazarus (Emma Porlock). Film - Rising Damp (Ruth Jones); Strike It Rich (Mrs. deVere); The Cherry Orchard (Charlotte Ivanovna). Links: IMDB - Article & Interview Don Warrington MBE played Town and Country Planning student Philip Smith in all but the Leicester performances of the original play The Banana Box , all 28 episodes of the TV series , and a medical student in The Movie .

Don Warrington was born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad on May 23rd 1952. His father was the politician Basil Kydd. He moved with his family to England when he was five years old, and settled in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. One of very few black families in the North East at the time, he had the nickname 'The Pele Kid' at school. With a theatrical interest since his childhood, Don left school and started work at Newcastle's Playhouse Theatre, where he worked his way up to ASM (assistant stage manager). Determined to become a full-time actor, he moved to London in 1969 where he trained at The Drama Centre for three years. This helped him land a part in the controversial play Hair, with which he toured Europe in 1972. The following year was to be Don's breakthrough as an actor. As well as roles at Lincoln Rep. including Measure For Measure, Erpingham Camp and A Taste Of Honey, he also landed the part of the black student Philip Smith in Eric Chappell's play The Banana Box.

When the play became a TV series, it was Don who again got the part, his first television role, for which he was paid £150 per episode to begin with, an amount he now describes as "a fabulous sum back then". It was to become his most famous. Many other TV roles were to follow for Don, including three series of the female cops drama C.A.T.S Eyes, To Play The King and The Arabian Nights. The movie version of Rising Damp in 1980 (in which Philip revealed he was from Croydon and not an African chief with ten wives) was Don's first big-screen role, and he has since appeared in other films including Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet, Babymother and Lighthouse. Don Warrington has continued to return to his first love - the theatre, with major parts in Macbeth, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Ear, Nose and Throat. He can also be seen in commercials on TV for the coffee company Kenco. He lives in Shepherd's Bush, London with his wife of 20 years. They have two children: Jake and Archie. Don was awarded the MBE in the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours.

He was recently a contestant on BBC celebrity dancing show Strictly Come Dancing . Remembering Rising Damp: - "Len was always very concerned about the fact that comedy is about what happens between people. It's not about a close-up here or a close-up there - it's the relationship. And that's what we worked at - that if we found the relationship, then it would be funny." - "Whoever came into contact with him [Richard] was immediately put at ease, and that was vital in Rising Damp. And Len really loved Richard, he thought he was wonderful. Whatever mood Len was in, Richard would come in and his mood would change - which was great for everybody." - "The effort that he [Len] put into those shows was phenomenal. At the end of it sometimes the man was absolutely exhausted. The passion that was there was frightening..." - "He [Len] was amazed at how successful Rising Damp was.

He'd spent years doing these incredibly difficult parts, and then this part comes along which was as easy as falling off a log for him, and it makes him into a gigantic star." - "...He was learning the trade as he went along, and the pure fact that he came into the show and survived says much for his guts and determination." "One of his strengths was the ability to play an upper-crust, well-bred gentleman, which helped enormously. Don played a rather aloof man who was world-weary, qualities which we wanted." - Eric Chappell. - (On The Movie) "I shall be sorry to see the end of Philip... I started with the play The Banana Box and have been with it ever since. Philip's comedy was that he was more English than the English and yet black - a difficult part - it could so easily have been caricatured. I have a lot to thank Philip for." - "I have only good memories of Rising Damp although they are, of course, old memories. As it was my first television I had nothing with which to compare the experience.

It was a steep learning curve for me." Notable Credits: Theatre - Julius Caesar; Hamlet; Dispatches; Dutchman; Streamers; Alterations; Caesar and Cleopatra; The Passion; Ear, Nose and Throat; Hair; A Taste Of Honey; The Banana Box; Eldorado. TV - Rising Damp; C.A.T.S. Eyes; To Play The King; Doctor Who; Crown Court; Red Dwarf; Fairly Secret Army; The XYY Man; Lovejoy; Backup; Trial and Retribution; Manchild. Film - Rising Damp; Camping; Hamlet; Babymother; Lighthouse; Black XXX-mas; The Last Giraffe. Rising Damp - what time is it on TV? Episode 6 Series 1 cast list and preview. Rising Damp Review by Alison Graham Leonard Rossiter’s brilliantly realised Rigsby became a byword for seedy, grasping landlords in Rising Damp , one of the 1970s’ best-loved and most successful sitcoms. As an Easter treat, ITV3 is dedicating its holiday schedule to Rising Damp, showing every episode across the bank holiday weekend, including the Rising Damp film.

There’s a documentary too, narrated by Martin Clunes. It includes archive footage from the shows and interviews with the cast and crew, including creator Eric Chappell, who reveals his inspiration for the ghastly Rigsby. And there are contributions from Don Warrington (who played Philip) and Christopher Strauli, who had the difficult task of filling the gap left after the death of Richard Beckinsale. Summary Miss Jones reports a prowler to the police and it is not long before an inspector calls to investigate - but, unfortunately for Rigsby, he is not all he seems. George Sewell guest stars in the classic comedy, with Leonard Rossiter and Frances de la Tour. Cast & Crew Miss Ruth Jones Frances de la Tour Alan Moore Richard Beckinsale

Question: In the TV series 'Rising Damp', which actress played Miss Jones?
Answer: Frances de la Tour